Maurizio Sarri is everything Chelsea fans claim to dislike in Antonio Conte
By George Perry
Maurizio Sarri’s management of Napoli hews closely to the false claims and narratives that surround Antonio Conte. If Chelsea hire Sarri, he will import many of the things the fans decry about Conte.
The philosopher Calvin (the six-year old with the tiger for a best friend, not the theologian) once said “The worst part is I don’t even get to have the fun of doing the things I’m getting blamed for.” Antonio Conte could have the same lament in his second season at Chelsea, assuming he found it “fun” to not rotate, to not play the youth and to use the exact same formation every week.
That does not sound like Antonio Conte’s idea of fun, nor successful management. However, it seems to work well for one of Conte’s rumoured replacements, Maurizio Sarri. Unlike Conte, Sarri relies almost exclusively on his best XI; hardly gives any minutes to anyone under 23; and rarely deviates from his standard formation.
Napoli had 11 players with over 2000 minutes this season, and 10 players with over 2000 minutes last season. In each season, only 12 players had more than 1500 minutes. In 2017/18, that 12th player was also the only other with over 1000 minutes.
Of those players with over 2000 minutes, the youngest in each season was Elseid Hysaj. Hysaj was 23 years old last season and 24 this season. Piotr Zielinski – another 24-year old – joined Hysaj in the best XI for 2017/18. The only younger players were Amadou Diawara, Marko Rog and Arkadisuz Milik. Those three combined for about 2000 minutes in 2016/17. These five players were the only ones 23 years old or younger out of 26 who saw time in Serie A. Diawara was the only teenager.
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This season, not a single teenager saw a minute in Serie A under Maurizio Sarri. Adam Ounas, a 21-year old midfielder, played 89 minutes. And Diawara had his playing time cut nearly in half.
Sarri played a 4-3-3 in every game for the last two seasons. This was sufficient for third place last season and second place this season, when the title race with Juventus came within a point in the final month of the season. Napoli bowed out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 last season and the group stage this season. They dropped into the Europa League, and promptly exited against RB Leipzig.
By contrast, Antonio Conte has used several variations on the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 over the last two seasons. This came, of course, after first starting Chelsea in a 4-2-3-1, a formation to which he briefly returned for the comeback win against Southampton.
Chelsea had 12 players with over 2000 minutes, and 15 with over 1000 minutes this season. The youngest players in the 2000-minute club were 22-year old Andreas Christensen and 23-year old Tiemoue Bakayoko. Four players younger than Christensen – including two teenagers – saw a handful of Premier League minutes.
Expanding the view to all competitions rings up seven players younger than Andreas Christensen who took the pitch for Chelsea this season. No one younger than Amadou Diawara played for Napoli at any point in 2017/18.
Most importantly, Antonio Conte has two trophies to show for his time at Chelsea. Sarri has yet to bring any hardware to Napoli.
Maurizio Sarri has achieved Napoli’s success by doing the things Antonio Conte is routinely and wrongly excoriated for doing. Sarri does not rotate players, does not alter his formation and is a dead-end for youth. Antonio Conte, on the other hand, continuously tried new XI’s, tweaked his formations and did more for Chelsea’s youth than any manager since Carlo Ancelotti.
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Sarri could well find success at Chelsea. But the seeds of his eventual downfall are already planted in Naples. Once results turned south, the old criticisms of Antonio Conte would make their way towards his successor. And this time they would stick.